'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3': Dave Bautista ready to quit

Cast member Dave Bautista poses at the premiere of "Guardians of the Galaxy" in Hollywood, California July 21, 2014. The movie opens in the U.S. on August 1.
Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Actor Dave Bautista (Drax) has supported James Gunn before, but the actor has now gone to the extent of offering to quit if the ex-director’s script is not used for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” Many of the actors from the franchise have also come out in support of Gunn.

Disney fired Gunn after his decade-old posts on Twitter resurfaced recently. The director had made jokes that were on the subject of rape and paedophilia, which goes against the principles of Disney. Gunn had apologised for his comments at that time and again recently after the tweet resurfaced, adding that he is now a changed man.

Several of “Guardians of the Galaxy” actors came in support of Gunn, without focussing on the comments that got him into trouble. Bautista had previously stated that he didn’t sign up for the movie franchise that would not have Gunn. His most recent comments go a step further, in which the actor said that he is ready to quit.

In an interview with ShortList, Bautista said that if Disney and Marvel don’t use Gunn’s script for the third instalment he would ask them to release him from his contract. “Cut me out or recast me,” he said. The actor added that he’d be doing a “disservice” to Gunn if he didn’t take this step.

Speaking about the comments Gunn made a decade ago, Bautista pointed out that no one is defending those tweets. He, however, said that the director has been a victim of a smear campaign. “James is one of the kindest, most decent people I’ve met,” he said.

Gunn has delivered the first draft of the “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” script just before he was fired. There is no confirmation yet about whether Disney will be using this script or if it will hire someone else to write a new one.